There are festivals that ask you to sit back and watch. Now or Never politely declines that arrangement.
Returning to Melbourne/Narrm from 19 to 30 August, the City of Melbourne’s festival of art, ideas, sound and technology once again transforms the CBD into a giant laboratory where light, music, architecture and emerging technology collide. It’s less about spectacle for spectacle’s sake and more about asking a simple question: what could tomorrow feel like?
If RISING is Melbourne’s love letter to winter’s beautiful weirdness, Now or Never is its future-facing sibling. The city itself becomes the venue. Laneways glow with installations, historic buildings become immersive performance spaces, theatres host artists impossible to categorise, and conversations about AI, creativity and society spill into bars long after the official program ends.
This year’s program is the festival’s biggest yet, bringing together more than 250 artists and creatives across over 150 events, with a mix of world premieres, Australian exclusives and free public experiences spread throughout the city.
The beauty of Now or Never is that no two itineraries will look alike.
Music lovers can disappear into experimental electronic performances one evening before finding themselves surrounded by audiovisual installations the next. Art enthusiasts can wander between large-scale public works before settling into thought-provoking talks featuring artists, technologists and cultural thinkers exploring where creativity meets innovation. It’s a festival that rewards curiosity far more than planning.
One of the greatest pleasures is simply allowing Melbourne to surprise you. You might head out for a headline performance only to discover an unexpected projection illuminating a familiar building or stumble upon a free installation tucked between office towers. The city feels subtly rewired during these twelve days, encouraging people to slow down, look up and notice spaces they’ve walked past hundreds of times.
The program also embraces Melbourne’s remarkable collection of cultural venues. Expect everything from intimate performances in unexpected locations to ambitious large-scale productions inside some of the city’s most iconic buildings. Even familiar spaces feel transformed when artists are given permission to experiment.
For visitors, Now or Never offers an entirely different way to experience Melbourne after dark. Pair an evening installation trail with dinner in the CBD, finish with a late-night performance, or build an entire weekend hopping between talks, exhibitions and immersive sound experiences. Many events are free, making it easy to dip into the festival without committing to a packed schedule.
Our advice? Don’t over-engineer your itinerary. Pick one headline event each evening, leave plenty of time to wander, and allow yourself to be drawn towards whatever catches your eye. The best memories at Now or Never often aren’t the ones you booked weeks in advance. They’re the unexpected discoveries between venues.
In a city famous for coffee, laneways and live music, Now or Never reminds us that Melbourne’s greatest strength has always been its willingness to experiment. For twelve winter nights, that spirit is amplified, illuminated and projected across the city.
If you’ve ever wondered what Melbourne might feel like five years from now, this is probably the closest you’ll get.
– Ruki
Now or Never runs from 19-30 August 2026
Program and tickets can be found here.
